Entomology Commons^™

Notes On The Life Histories Of Acrosternum Hilare And Cosmopepla Bimaculata (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) In Southern Illinois, J. E. Mcpherson, D. L. Tecic

The Great Lakes Entomologist

The life histories of Acrosternum hilare and Cosmopepla bimaculata were studied in southern Illinois from May 1972 to September 1974 and from September 1992 to June 1995. Both species were bivoltine, overwintered as adults, and became active in early spring. The subsequent generations were characterized by marked overlapping of the nymphal instars. No active adults were found after early November.

Nearctic Acleris: Resurrection Of A. Stadiana And A Revised Identity For A. Semiannula (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Michael Sabourin, Ronald J. Priest, William E. Miller

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Type study showed that Acleris stadiana (Barnes & Busck), currently considered a junior synonym of A. semiannula (Robinson), is in fact a distinct taxon. Although superficially similar, these taxa differ markedly in genital structure. In males of A. semiannula, the aedeagus is short, broad, and virtually straight, whereas in those of A. stadiana, it is long, thin, and sharply bent. What was known in literature as A. semiannula proved to be A. stadi­ana. We redefine both A. semiannula and the resurrected A. stadiana.

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna J. Giberson

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

Antagonistic Actions Of Juvenile Hormone And 20-Hydroxyecdysone Within The Ring Gland Determine Developmental Transitions In Drosophila, Suning Liu, Kang Li, Yue Gao, Xi Liu, Weiting Chen, Wei Ge, Qili Feng, Subba Reddy Palli, Sheng Li

Entomology Faculty Publications

In both vertebrates and insects, developmental transition from the juvenile stage to adulthood is regulated by steroid hormones. In insects, the steroid hormone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), elicits metamorphosis, thus promoting this transition, while the sesquiterpenoid juvenile hormone (JH) antagonizes 20E signaling to prevent precocious metamorphosis during the larval stages. However, not much is known about the mechanisms involved in cross-talk between these two hormones. In this study, we discovered that in the ring gland (RG) of Drosophila larvae, JH and 20E control each other’s biosynthesis. JH induces expression of a Krüppel-like transcription factor gene Kr-h1 in the prothoracic gland (PG), a …

Octapartite Negative-Sense Rna Genome Of High Plains Wheat Mosaic Virus Encodes Two Suppressors Of Rna Silencing, Adarsh K. Gupta, Gary L. Hein, Robert A. Graybosch, Satyanarayana Tatineni

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

High Plains wheat mosaic virus (HPWMoV, genus Emaravirus; family Fimoviridae), transmitted by the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella Keifer), harbors a monocistronic octapartite single-stranded negative-sense RNA genome. In this study, putative proteins encoded by HPWMoV genomic RNAs 2–8 were screened for potential RNA silencing suppression activity by using a green fluorescent protein-based reporter agroinfiltration assay. We found that proteins encoded by RNAs 7 (P7) and 8 (P8) suppressed silencing induced by single- or doublestranded RNAs and efficiently suppressed the transitive pathway of RNA silencing. Additionally, a Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV, genus Tritimovirus; family Potyviridae …

Behavioral Observations Of Drosophila Melanogaster As Compared To Humans, Ali Hosey, Marissa Arnett

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

In this poster for the Natural Sciences Poster Session at Parkland College, students posit whether there are behavioral similarities between fruit flies and humans, given the genetic similarity. Using both wild type and vestigial wing fruit flies, the students concluded that, while there were no obvious individual behaviors, there might be a similar drive to congregate together.

Nebraska Invasive Plants Field Guide, Nebraska Invasive Species Program

Nebraska Invasive Species Program

Invasive species are plants, animals or pathogens that are non-native to an ecosystem. They cause harm to the economy, environment or human health. They negatively affect native species and ecosystems and interfere with outdoor recreation opportunities. This guide identifies federal and state-listed noxious weeds. Federal noxious weeds are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; State noxious weeds are regulated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Protection, Noxious Weed Program. Aquatic invasive species are listed and regulated by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

ABSINTH WORMWOOD • AMUR HONEYSUCKLE • AUTUMN OLIVE • BRITTLE NAIAD • CALLERY …

Large Effect Quantitative Trait Loci For Salicinoid Phenolic Glycosides In Populus: Implications For Gene Discovery, Scott A. Woolbright, Brian J. Rehill, Richard L. Lindroth, Stephen P. Difazio, Gregory D. Martinsen, Matthew S. Zinkgraf, Gerard J. Allan, Paul Keim, Thomas G. Whitham

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Genomic studies have been used to identify genes underlying many important plant secondary metabolic pathways. However, genes for salicinoid phenolic glycosides (SPGs)—ecologically important compounds with significant commercial, cultural, and medicinal applications—remain largely undescribed. We used a linkage map derived from a full-sib population of hybrid cottonwoods (Populus spp.) to search for quanti- tative trait loci (QTL) for the SPGs salicortin and HCH-salicortin. SSR markers and primer sequences were used to anchor the map to the V3.0 P. trichocarpa genome. We discovered 21 QTL for the two traits, including a major QTL for HCH-salicortin (R2 = .52) that colocated with a …

Rnai-Mediated Knockdown Of Vatpase Subunits Affects Survival And Reproduction Of Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), Sanjay Basnet, Shripat T. Kamble

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) has resurged as one of the most troublesome household pests affecting people across the globe. Bed bug infestations have increased in recent years primarily due to the evolution of insecticide resistance and the insect’s ability to hitchhike with travelers. vATPases are one of the most evolutionarily conserved holoenzymes in eukaryotes, which are mainly involved in proton transport across the plasma membranes and intracellu­lar organelles. RNA interference (RNAi) has been developed as a promising tool for insect control. In this study, we used RNAi as an approach to knock down subunits A …

An Engineer Cantonment Bestiary: The Art Of Titian Ramsay Peale, Hugh H. Genoways, Thomas E. Labedz

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Includes an overview of the work of American nature artist Titian Ramsay Peale as part of the Stephen H. Long Expedition, 1819-1820, at Engineer Cantonment in eastern Nebraska, USA.

Includes textual descriptions and/or reproductions of watercolors and lined drawings by Peale of banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanous), American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrothynchos), Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus/Falco lagopus), Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis tabida), Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea), Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus …

Effects Of Anthropogenic Noise On Mating Behavior And Fitness, Gabrielle A. Gurule-Small

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When environments change rapidly, adaptive phenotypic plasticity can ameliorate negative effects of environmental change on survival and reproduction. Recent evidence, however, suggests that plastic responses to human induced environmental change are often maladaptive or insufficient to overcome novel selection pressures. Anthropogenic noise is a ubiquitous and expanding disturbance with demonstrated effects on fitness-related traits of animals like stress responses, foraging, vigilance, and pairing success. Elucidating the lifetime fitness effects of noise has been challenging because long-lived vertebrate systems are typically studied in this context. In both chapters described herein, I reared field crickets, Teleogryllus oceanicus, in masking traffic noise, …

Altering Plant Defenses: Herbivore-Associated Molecular Patterns And Effector Arsenal Of Chewing Herbivores, Saumik Basu, Suresh Varsani, Joe Louis

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Chewing herbivores, such as caterpillars and beetles, while feeding on the host plant, cause extensive tissue damage and release a wide array of cues to alter plant defenses. Consequently, the cues can have both beneficial and detrimental impacts on the chewing herbivores. Herbivore-associated molecular patterns (HAMPs) are molecules produced by herbivorous insects that aid them to elicit plant defenses leading to impairment of insect growth, while effectors suppress plant defenses and contribute to increased susceptibility to subsequent feeding by chewing herbivores. Besides secretions that originate from glands (e.g., saliva) and fore- and midgut regions (e.g., oral secretions) of chewing herbivores, …

Environmental Effects On Drosophila Brain Development And Learning, Xia Wang, Amei Amei, J. Steven De Belle, Stephen P. Roberts

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Brain development and behavior are sensitive to a variety of environmental influences including social interactions and physicochemical stressors. Sensory input in situ is a mosaic of both enrichment and stress, yet little is known about how multiple environmental factors interact to affect brain anatomical structures, circuits and cognitive function. In this study, we addressed these issues by testing the individual and combined effects of sub-adult thermal stress, larval density and early-adult living spatial enrichment on brain anatomy and olfactory associative learning in adult Drosophila melanogaster. In response to heat stress, the mushroom bodies (MBs) were the most volumetrically impaired among …

Nebline, January 2018

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Extension 2017 Highlights

Food & Health

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Early Childhood

and other extension news and events

A Comparison Of Two Methods Of Quantifying Mating Success In Low Density Gypsy Moth (Lymantria Dispar) Populations, Alexandra Barry, Hannah Byrne, Derek M. Johnson

UROP Posters

The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a defoliating pest native to Europe and invasive to North America. The gypsy moth is subject to depressed mating success in low density populations, which may restrict spread of the forest pest. Research focusing on gypsy moth density as it relates to mating behavior has often used counts of males caught in pheromone-baited delta traps as a proxy to estimate the probability of female mating success. The purpose of this project was to determine whether pheromone trap counts provide accurate estimates of female mating success probability, by comparing data gathered from pheromone-baited …

Interitance Pattern Of Vestigial Mutation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Tori R. Witruck, Adam Padron

A with Honors Projects

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the inheritance pattern of the vestigial mutation in Drosophila melanogaster. The experiment was to include two crosses with wild type and vestigial mutation, but the second cross experienced environmental setbacks potentially affecting the results, the experiment could lead to future testing on environmental effects on mutation.

Impact Of Timing And Method Of Virus Inoculation On The Severity Of Wheat Streak Mosaic Disease, E. N. Wosula, Anthony J. Mcmechan, Allison L. Knoell, Satyanarayana Tatineni, Stephen N. Wegulo, Gary L. Hein

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), transmitted by the wheat curl mite Aceria tosichella, frequently causes significant yield loss in winter wheat throughout the Great Plains of the United States. A field study was conducted in the 2013–14 and 2014–15 growing seasons to compare the impact of timing of WSMV inoculation (early fall, late fall, or early spring) and method of inoculation (mite or mechanical) on susceptibility of winter wheat cultivars Mace (resistant) and Overland (susceptible). Relative chlorophyll content, WSMV incidence, and yield components were determined. The greatest WSMV infection occurred for Overland, with the early fall inoculations resulting in …

Escarabajos Longicornios (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae Y Disteniidae) Del Parque Nacional Darién, Panamá, Alfredo Lanuza-Garay, Alonso Santos Murgas

Insecta Mundi

Darién National Park (PND), a natural connection between South and Central America, is the largest national park not only in Panama but in all of Central America. Due to its strategic geographical situation, it is a place for the interchange of the North and South American fauna, where endemic invertebrates and vertebrates are very abundant. Through the use of malaise traps and light traps placed at different points within the PND, 183 individuals of 87 species of longicorn beetles in the families Cerambycidae and Disteniidae were collected. Also, four species of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) are reported for the first time …

A Review Of The Genus Beltia Jacoby (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini), With Descriptions Of Fourteen New Species From Costa Rica, Panama, And Northwestern South America, R. Wills Flowers

Insecta Mundi

Adults of the Neotropical genera Beltia Jacoby (type species: Beltia nicaraguensis Jacoby) and Colaspoides Laporte (type species: Colaspoides limbata [Olivier]) (Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae: Eumolpini) are difficult to separate. In this paper, the genus Beltia Jacoby is redefined and diagnosed by features of the pygidium, lateral wings of the prosternum, and metatibiae to distinguish it from Colaspoides and other medium-sized, ovate Eumolpini. Fourteen new species from Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are described and illustrated—Beltia awapita, B. confusa, B. gorgona, B. herreri, B. ledesmae, B. napoensis, B. osa, B. rugosa, B. sanchezae, B. talaga, B. tilarana, B. tisingalita, B. …

Taxonomic Study And Population Variation Of Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae And Diaspididae) And Associated Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) In An Olive Grove At Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil, Vera R. S. Wolff, Caio F. S. Efrom, Daniel A. Aquino, Adilson Tonietto

Insecta Mundi

This study evaluated the population variation of Hemiberlesia lataniae (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and associated parasitoids in Olea europaea L. (Oleaceae) groves located in the municipality of Barra do Ribeiro (30°30′54.95″S; 51°30′20.84″W), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Eight samples were collected during the four seasons from November 2015 until October 2017; four branches with approximately 20 leaves were taken from 12 olive trees (four each from Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki varieties). The collected material was placed in plastic bags and taken to the laboratory for further study. Scale insects were slide-mounted and were identified according to morphological characteristics of the adult …